Month: August 2017

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 (NLT)

We are called to do everything unto the Lord. Rather than seeing ourselves as working for people, let us understand that we are working for Jesus. He is the one who has placed us in our current position, whether it be a job or a business. And so let us perform our every task with excellence, knowing that our reward will ultimately come from Him. When we show up every day with this spirit of excellence, no matter where we may currently find ourselves, we may rest assured that we will be blessed and that God will use us to be a blessing to others.

And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:6 (NLT)

To truly receive the grace of God in Christ Jesus is an act of humility. We humble ourselves by removing ourselves from the center of our lives and making Jesus the center of our lives on a day by day and moment by moment basis. We look not to what we can do, have done, or have failed to do, but only to what Jesus has done. Self-effort always springs out of pride, whereas grace flows out of this total surrendering of our lives to the Lord Jesus. Today, let us look unto Jesus, relying upon His goodness and His mercy to transform us from the inside out.

For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

Psalm 92:4 (KJV)

God wants to work deep within our soul to shape us more fully into who He has called us to be. Walking with the Lord is a process of continual growth and transformation. As we offer up daily what does not serve His purpose for us—old hurts and regrets, fears and insecurities—and receive the truth of who we have been created to be in Him, we will find ourselves being made glad through His work. All of us, no matter our history or current life circumstances, have been made to triumph through God’s mighty hand working in us and through us.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Isaiah 65:17-18 (KJV)

The new creation begins for us the moment we are in Christ. God wants to shape the new heaven and the new earth in and through the hearts of every born again believer. We participate in this continual process as we daily let go of the old, and receive by faith the newness of life that is in Christ Jesus. We then find ourselves filled with a peace and a joy that is independent of the circumstances and conditions of this world, and we become the much needed instruments through which God can bring healing, deliverance and salvation into the world.

Let us come to realize the supernatural power of the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. This is of such importance that there is nothing more detrimental to our experiencing total and complete victory in our Christian walk than ignoring the cross, or failing to recognize its power to set us free from all that has held us in bondage. Truly, in this is contained the power and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24) And so today let us seek to have a spiritual understanding of what happened on that day at Calvary, and how it connects to everyone who will receive what has been so freely made available.

When Jesus died on the cross, He represented you, me, and all of humanity—past, present and future. Or to be precise, he represented the guilt, the pain, the shame, the sickness, the lack, the iniquities, the addictions, and all of the suffering in the world which is tied to sin. He literally became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) He became our pain, so that we could be set free from it.

How can this be, you might ask. The key to understanding this lies in understanding every believer’s spiritual union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” In other words, everyone who has received Jesus as Lord has become spiritually unified with Him. We are one with Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit. (see John 17:21)

It is because of our spiritual union with Christ that everything that is true about the life of Jesus has become true about us. Scripture says that our old self has been crucified with Him. (Romans 6:6) When we are in Christ, our old nature, our old self, everything in us which was drawn to the flesh and to sin, has been crucified. The moment we were joined unto the Lord, we died. Our old self has died, and our new self came alive. And what is the nature of our new self? It is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24) Our new self is spiritually identical to Jesus, which is why the Bible says that “as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

Now the reason many of us may oftentimes have difficulty accepting this is because we tend to make the mistake of looking at our behavior. Yet anytime we look at our behavior, we are regarding ourselves according to the flesh. Friends, we must learn to regard ourselves no longer according to who we have been in the flesh, but according to who we have been made to be in Christ. The Apostle Paul urges the Corinthians to regard no one according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 5:16) Naturally this does not mean we ignore our actions or fail to take responsiblity for them, but what it does mean is that we understand that our actions do not necessarily represent the truth of who we are in Christ.

Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) He did not say that the truth will make us free, but that knowing the truth will make us free. Brothers and sisters, we must know the truth, and we know the truth when we understand who we are in Christ. We must learn to receive by faith that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Knowing that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus enables us to let go of all guilt, and when we are free from guilt, all of the forces of darkness lose their grip over us.

Friend, no matter where you may find yourself today, my prayer is that you would consider this: God loved you so much that He came into the world in human form to take upon Himself all of the pain, guilt and shame, any type of suffering you have ever experienced or may be currently experiencing. The infinite One became finite, the immortal One became mortal for the purpose of setting you free so that by His stripes you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Today, reflect upon your union with the Lord Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to make this real to you. He is not distant or far off, He is with you and He is in you. And He will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

This is the living hope we have been given in the resurrection: when Christ died, we died; when He rose from the dead, we were born unto eternal life in Him. As He is, so are we in this world. How glorious are the finished works of our Lord!

Father, I thank You for the precious gift of Your Son. Thank You, Lord, for the victory You won for me two thousand years ago. Help me to have a revelation that when You died, my old self died with You; and when You rose to glorious life, I was given new, eternal and abundant life in You. Lord, today I surrender all of my hurts, my pains and my failures to You. Thank You that because You bore my infirmities on the cross, I no longer need to carry them. I confess and declare that I am righteous in You! I am free in You! I am victorious in You! By your stripes I have been healed! I love You, and I thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen!

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 3:17 (KJV)

We are to represent the Lord Jesus in all that we do. Consider that in our day to day life, in our words and deeds, we are no longer representing ourselves, but but the One who has sent us. How does this affect what we say and do? Today, let us ask for the grace to remember that in all things we are called to be Christ representatives. The key is to have a thankful heart towards God, praising Him for all He has done, and for yet another opportunity to go forth into the world and let His light shine through us. This is the victorious life we are called to live.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

John 19:30 (KJV)

The greek word for salvation is sozo. The meaning of sozo includes healing, soundness, deliverance, to be brought into safety, to be set free from the powers of darkness. Jesus, speaking of salvation, said that it is finished. This should be the starting point for every Christian then: that it is finished. Healing is finished and available, deliverance is finished and available, wholeness is finished and available. And so today, whatever the need may be in your life, realize that Jesus said it is finished. May you receive this good news by faith, and thereby see it become the reality of your day to day life!

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.

Luke 5:12-13 (NKJV)

Have you ever wondered if it is truly God’s will to bring wholeness, joy, health and wellbeing into your life? This man with leprosy approached Jesus in exactly that way, and His response was, “I am willing.” Oftentimes we must consciously and deliberately remind ourselves that it is God’s will for us that we be every whit whole, that the fruits of salvation include wholeness in all of the spheres of our life. And so today, let us be bold enough to remove all doubt and uncertainty from our hearts, and know that we serve a God who is willing meet the needs that arise in our day to day life. Our responsibility is to be willing to receive of His limitless love and grace towards us.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:2-3 (NKJV)

The moment we gave our life to Jesus we have died to our old self, and as born again followers of Christ we have received a new identity, a new life that is now hidden in Him. In order for us to live out of who we are in Christ, we are called to set our thoughts on the things above. We are called to contemplate heavenly realities by filling our hearts and minds with the Word of God. It is this daily renewing of the mind in the Word that makes us open, receptive and available to everything that has become true about us in Christ. It enables the wholeness, the peace of mind, the joy, fulfillment and provision that is hidden in Him to become manifest as the day to day realities of our life.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:5 (KJV)

Jesus is calling us to thrive by bringing forth much fruit in His name. Yet to do so we must bring Him into every area of our life, we must remember continuously that without Him we can do nothing. And so today, let us realize that in whatever we are called to do, God is never distant or far off, but He is right where we are, abiding in us as we abide in Him. When we live in this continual fellowship with the Lord, we will indeed be the branches showing forth all of the marvelous fruits of salvation.

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